Graduating veterinarians are well positioned for research-based careers in comparative biomedical medicine and have tremendous potential to contribute to our national health-sciences infrastructure. To advance animal and human health care for the public good, the faculty and administration at KSU College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) are dedicated to training veterinary students in comparative biomedical research. The broad goal of the Short-Term Training Program is to attract veterinarians into biomedical research careers. In particular, Specific Aims of the program are to: 1) expose veterinary students to critical thinking processes inherent to hypothesis-driven research activities; 2) train students in methodologies involved in design and execution of laboratory experiments and multicenter clinical trials; 3) instruct veterinary students in issues relative to the responsible conduct of biomedical research; and 4) provide veterinary students with exposure to a variety of biomedical career choices. [unreadable] [unreadable] Trainees will be selected from a pool of applicants from first and second year students in 4-year professional (D.V.M.) programs. Students will receive individual mentoring by training-grant faculty involved in research relevant to their individual expertise. [unreadable] [unreadable] In addition to providing students with the opportunity to participate in a productive research laboratory, each student will attend and participate in weekly research workshops where they will be introduced to issues such as responsible conduct of research, experimental design, critical data analysis, and presentation of research results. At the conclusion of the program, each participant will prepare an abstract of their work and present a summary of their research efforts at a 1-day Research Symposium. Trainees also will be afforded the opportunity to attend and present their data at national scientific meetings. [unreadable] [unreadable] The effect of the program in altering student perceptions of biomedical research and/or influencing the students to consider a post-D.V.M. career in biomedical research will be assessed at the end of each summer program and at four years after their graduation using survey instruments developed by the University Director of Educational Advancement.